For an electronic device, in which multiple semiconductor packages with semiconductor chips mounted thereon or multiple electronic components that are chip-type passive components such as resistors and capacitors are implemented, high functionality and multi-functionality has been demanded in recent years. To meet this demand, highly-integrated large-scale semiconductor chips have been developed. Accordingly, the number of electrical junctions such as solder bumps that connect a semiconductor package to a circuit board has been greatly increased. In addition, the size of these electrical junctions tends to be reduced. Thus, problems of ruptured junctions are caused due to repeated temperature changes, bending and impact forces, and vibration that are produced onto the semiconductor package.
To deal with such problems, a technique of avoiding thermal fatigue rupture by use of a resistance detecting unit that is incorporated in the semiconductor package to detect an increase in the resistance that occurs because of thermal fatigue rupture of a detection-dedicated junction has been known.
With the conventional technology, however, rupture of a junction cannot always be accurately detected. The detection-dedicated junctions are arranged in the four corners of the electronic component, and designed to have a shorter life span than that of other junctions. There still remains a possibility that a target junction, for which rupture prediction should be made, is ruptured before rupture of the detection-dedicated junction is detected, because there are variations in the physical properties of materials and forms of junctions. Such rupture of the target junction may also be caused because an unruptured portion remains, for example, near the center of the detection-dedicated junction even after most of the interface between the detection-dedicated junction and an electrode pad is ruptured.